Day trip ideas for thrill-seeking families

Get your family squealing with delight at these fun attractions

Posted: Tuesday October 4 2016

Get your family squealing with delight at these fun attractions

The 'Flying Saucer’

For serious spine-tingling thrills, head to Shilinxia Scenic Area where you can walk on a terrifying new glass-bottomed viewing platform, the biggest in the world. It’s suspended 400m off the ground and larger than two tennis courts, and the 38-metre diameter means it sticks out a full 11 metres farther than that little Skywalk over the Grand Canyon.

Located 100km to the northeast in Pinggu district, it’s a bit of a trek getting there, but you’ll also be rewarded with wooded walkways, waterfalls, secluded pavilions and rollercoasters. Entry to the viewing platform is 20RMB, including compulsory shoe cover hire. You also pay 78RMB to get into the park.

Getting there It’s about an hour and a half’s drive. Alternatively, take Subway Line 15 to its last stop, Fengbo (Shunyi). Leave via Exit C2 for the 98 or 918 bus. Get off at Pinggu Yingbin roundabout (平谷迎宾环 岛站) and take the 25 bus to the Shilinxia stop. The buses take three hours in total.

Longqing Gorge

Did you know that the world’s longest outdoor escalator and is right here at Beijing’s Longqing Gorge? Just an hour and a half away from the city centre, the mountainside escalator is 258 metres long and shaped like a dragon.

Once you’ve completed your passage through the beast’s fiery digestive system, you will be met by the impressive and imposing vista of the Gucheng River carving through jagged sugarloaf mountains. But if immense natural beauty, river cruises and reptilian escalators aren’t sufficiently high-octane for your family, you can also go bungee jumping, rock climbing and animal petting.

Beijing World Park

Your kids dying to go see the Pyramids? Well, they can do just that, as well as marvel at a bucket list-busting 108 more of the world’s wonders and most-loved landmarks, all scaled-down at Beijing World Park.

Since opening in 1993, the attraction has allowed millions of visitors to cross the Golden Gate Bridge in a matter of seconds, careen through the not-so-Grand Canyon and play president in front of the off-White House. Heading east, you can take in the Colosseum and the Eiffel Tower in one panoramic pivot, before moving onto Red Square and the Taj Mahal, via a quick camel ride at the Great Pyramid of Giza. Your kids will love dressing up in traditional garments and posing for photos. With entry a mere 100RMB, you won’t need to fork out for flights to Egypt just yet.